My Mistaken Bride and the 1800s Tavern

I found myself walking on cobblestone streets in bright sunlight with Nat.  The buildings and decorations reminded me of a cross between Florence and Montreal.  It was very urban, but the buildings were only two or three stories tall.  Some people were dressed as if they were from the 1800s, but others were dressed in modern day clothing.  We walked until we reached a restaurant, where things got weird.

I had a gut feeling that the restaurant was Italian, but nothing visual confirmed this.  There was a big gruff host at the front with a crazy beard, but I never interacted with him as I found myself inside the restaurant without actually walking through the door.  It looked like a tavern out of an adventure book, with chandeliers instead of lights, ornate detailing in corners/columns/edges, and taxidermy here and there as well as other knickknacks adorning the walls.  A good comparison would be the tavern where Gaston sings his number in Disney's animated feature Beauty and the Beast.  The inside was dark and cool, a contrast to the bright sun which could still be observed through the open door.

I suddenly found myself proposing to a blonde girl, whose name I cannot remember.  Somehow I recognized her and knew her very well in my dream, but she has no real life counterpart.  I knew her name, but I actually forgot her name in my dream and it was still lost to me when I woke.  She was short, although my same age, and dressed like the other 1800s people.  She was pretty and her face almost child-like.  I recall her having two braids when I first saw her in the dream but never again after that.  My marriage proposition immediately sent the entire restaurant into a frenzy of what I assume was preparation for the wedding.  In the middle of all the excitement and congratulations I suddenly recalled that Nat was still with me.  I turned around to face her and she smiled at me-- I felt something like a boulder drop from my throat to my stomach.  I became frustrated with myself. "How on earth did I manage to propose to this girl while the one that I love is standing right next to me?" I thought as a blend of emotions surged through my head.  I immediately began searching for the girl to whom I mistakenly proposed (how does one even get into this situation?).

I searched desperately, running around and asking everyone where I could find my erroneous bride.  I felt horrible the whole time, thinking of how crestfallen and upset she would be when I told her that I did not mean to propose to her and that I loved another.  Day turned to night in an instant.  I remember poking around an outdoor seating area of the restaurant, with a trellised roof that had vines and christmas lights strung through-- it was quite beautiful, actually, but I did not have time to stop and admire the atmosphere.  As I ran back inside, night turned back to day.  I ran up a set of stairs into and was suddenly in an area that can best be described as a typical 90s high school.  Teal or aqua bricks lined the walls and a large window showered sunlight into the hallway, patterned by a layer of fence-like metal (the kind used in inner city schools to prevent people from breaking in).  I ran past a huge gymnasium (the structure I traversed through now defies physics, if you include the 1800s tavern that was just a staircase away) and looked into a couple of dark rooms which I later realized were class rooms.  I remember clearly two high school girls sitting in the dark, talking in the glow of what I think was a medium sized fish tank with no water in it (probably reptiles inside).  I asked them if they had seen my bride and they shrugged.  The rest of the dream was a blur consisting of me running around asking more people if they'd seen my bride.  I believe I did find her in the end and told her, because I can recall a deep sadness right before I woke up.  I wish that I had a more detailed recollection, but alas, all that remains is a feeling.